In the shocking second chapter of the story of Batman and the Penguin’s first meeting, a dramatic change in their relationship has emerged…is Cobblepot ready to go toe-to-toe with the Dark Knight? Or is he already two moves ahead? The Penguin #7 is an interesting look at the character’s rise to power and how much that was enabled by Batman.

Written by Tom King, the comic continues to shift the focus of the series a bit. The original arc had the Penguin in the now, tasked with rebuilding his empire in Gotham. This arc takes us back to the beginning to show how a bartender turned into one of the top dogs in Gotham’s criminal empire.

The story by King has been interesting so far, with The Penguin #7 really standing out, especially with recent storylines in the main Batman series. We already knew that Batman was getting info from The Penguin, but it becomes clear here that there’s a deal that The Penguin is given some runway to do what he needs to do. What we find out is that Oswald really manipulated the situation with “false flag” attacks getting Batman to take on Penguin’s rivals.

To me, what’s interesting is that Batman gives The Penguin space to do what he needs to, while knowing the Penguin is lying and causing harm. Take that and contrast it with the recent “Gotham War” that showed a Batman that believed in no tolerance for crime. The Batman of today is in opposition to his past. Whether that’ll be explored more would be interesting but it’s something that stands out.

King also gives us a reason for “The Penguin.” Why does Oswald take on the personality he has hated? King delivers an interesting reason that once again how much Batman and Oswald colluded in the early days, a symbiotic relationship that can be debated as to its effectiveness.

Stevan Subic‘s art is interesting. With color by Marcelo Maiolo and lettering by Clayton Cowles, the comic’s look has a dirty and gritty look that is quite different than what we see in other Bat-titles. Subic’s style, enhanced by Maiolo’s colors makes Penguin look much more like a monster. While I’m not the biggest fan of the look, I appreciate how it reflects Penguin’s role and how he sees himself. There’s something interesting about the art style, the arc’s themes, and how it compares to other art in other Bat-titles and the comic’s previous arc.

The Penguin #7 is another solid issue showing us the first rise of one of Gotham’s leaders. It answers some questions and delivers an interesting take on the classic character. Like the series as a whole, the arc shows why this is a character to fear and truly giving him his due.

Story: Tom King Art: Stevan Subic
Color: Marcelo Maiolo Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.15 Overall: 8.4 Recommendation: Buy

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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